Other Protected Nature Areas

Other Protected Nature Areas

National Parks and Nature Parks & Reserves of Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) are covered on separate pages. On this page we are presenting other protected nature areas.

Protected nature areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina are those parts of the territory that are significant in terms of biodiversity, relative preservation of the original landscape and/or aesthetic-tourist potential. They were singled out based on the categorization of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), on whose principles the entity laws on nature protection are based in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The IUCN developed a system of six nominal categories of protected areas in accordance with their primary management objectives. Practically there are seven (7) categories since the first category (under the common name – wilderness area) is divided into two parts. Those categories (with number of such areas in Bosnia & Herzegovina) are:

• Ia – Strict Nature Reserve (6 in BiH)
• Ib – Wilderness Area (0 in BiH)
• II – National Park (4 in BiH)
• III – Natural Monument or Feature (19 in BiH)
• IV – Protected Habitat or Species Management Area (2 in BiH)
• V – Protected Landscape or Seascape (10 in BiH)
• VI – Protected Area With Sustainable Use of Natural Resources (3 in BiH)

This article concerns all of the areas above except II – National Parks, they are presented in a separate category. Bosnia & Herzegovina is a country of rich biological diversity consisting of over 450 species of plants and trees, as well as numerous species of birds and mammals, fish, reptiles, amphibians, etc. The country is home to numerous endemic species and habitats, as well as a number of relict ecosystems. The biodiversity of species has the highest level of endemicity in Europe. That resulted in a high number of protected areas for a small country such as Bosnia & Herzegovina – 40.

Ia – Strict Nature Reserve

Janj Ancient and Primeval Forest – Janj plateau is an area in the Republic of Srpska famous for numeorus natural features: Janj primeval forest, Janj river springs, Vaganske caves and its most popular feature – Janja River Islands. The Janj ancient and primeval forest is located on the western slopes of the Stolovaš massif at the altitude between 1,180 and 1,510 meters, in the territory of the Šipovo municipality. The primeval forest is a natural asset of world importance following the decision of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on 28 July 2021, within the scope of the expansion of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Primordial Beech Forest of the Carpathians and other regions of Europe.

The Janj Rainforest Reserve was placed under protection in 1954 as a facility for scientific research, but also as a natural rarity attractive to visitors. The rainforest core of 58 ha has been protected from any exploitation since the 1960s. According to the decision of the Government of Republic of Srpska dated December 18, 2012, the rainforest is listed as a protected strict nature reserve, category Ia.

Most of the flora of the Janj rainforest consists of beech and fir trees, as well as maple, elm, ash and spruce. Rainforests are forests made up of trees of different sizes and ages, which were created and developed naturally, without human influence. In them, natural processes take place, starting from germination until the natural death of the trees and the processes that follow afterwards.

The attraction can be reached by car from the town of Šipovo.

Lom Ancient and Primeval Forest – The Lom Ancient and Primeval Forest was founded in 1956. It is located in the Klekovače mountain massif, at the crest of the Lom mountain. It covers an area of ​​297.8 hectares. It has a separate core – a strict nature reserve, the size of 55.8 hectares.

In order for a forest to be a primeval forest, no other activities are allowed in it, not even the use of felled dry trees. Those trees represent the home or living space of other inhabitants of the rainforest, such as fungi, insects and many animals. This preserves the natural balance, which is precisely the greatest value of the rainforest.

The vegetation of the logging rainforest consists of the typical forest of these Dinaric mountains, the beech-fir-spruce species, subalpine beech forest and fir and spruce.

In this rainforest was the widest fir tree in BiH – 1.75 meters in diameter. This tree fell in the winter of 2019. The tallest fir tree in the country was recorded here – 55 meters high.

The presence of mushrooms on the trees is a visible proof that it is a rainforest. In total, there are 306 species of mushrooms, more than 1000 plant species, and 59 species of birds in the rainforest.

III – Natural Monument or Feature

There are 14 natural monuments or features in Bosnia & Herzegovina. They are:

• Ljubačevo Cave – Located 14 kilometers from the center of Banja Luka. The length of the cave is 338 meters. The cave consists of several halls, connected by channels. During speleological research from 2004 to 2006, extremely rare forms of eccentric jewelry were found, making this a unique underground object in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Other forms of cave jewelry are also represented: large saliva, stalagmites, stalactites, cave columns and bigrene bathtubs.
• The yellow beech (Fagus moesiaca) is located in the village of Zaselje, the municipality of Kotor Varoš. The tree is characterized by its distinctly yellow leaves from budding in spring to falling in autumn, which makes it the only such variety of beech in Europe. The tree is very old, with regular and widely branched crowns. It differs from a typical beech in the color of its leaves and twigs – the leaves are very yellow and shiny, and the twigs are reddish in color. On the area of ​​400 square meters around the beech there are about 100 young individuals.